Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Chronic drinking and exposure to particulate matter dramatically decreases lung function
Alveolar macrophage (AM) function plays a critical role in protecting the lungs by removing particulates. Chronic drinking causes persistent oxidative stress in the lungs, leading to impaired AM function. A...
Could novel drug target autism and fetal alcohol disorder?
A surprising new study reveals a common molecular vulnerability in autism and fetal alcohol disorder. Both have social impairment symptoms and originate during brain development. The study found male offspring...
Farmworkers feel the heat even when they leave the fields
Researchers conducted a study to evaluate the heat indexes in migrant farmworker housing and found that a majority of the workers don’t get a break from the heat when they’re...
Developmental protein plays role in spread of cancer
A protein used by embryo cells during early development, and recently found in many different types of cancer, apparently serves as a switch regulating the spread of cancer, known as...
Using math to kill cancer cells
Scientists have outlined how advanced mathematical modelling can be used in the fight against cancer. The technique predicts how different treatments and genetic modifications might allow cancer-killing, oncolytic viruses to...
Experts propose restoring invisible and abandoned trials 'to correct the scientific record'
Experts are today calling for all unpublished and misreported trials to be published or formally corrected within the next year to ensure doctors and patients rely on complete and accurate...
Severe maternal complications less common during home births, study suggests
Women with low risk pregnancies who choose to give birth at home have a lower risk of severe complications than women who plan a hospital birth, finds a new study.
Depression in postmenopausal women may increase diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk
Postmenopausal women who use antidepressant medication or suffer from depression might be more likely to have a higher body mass index, larger waist circumference and inflammation -- all associated with...
Metabolic molecule drives growth of aggressive brain cancer
A new study has identified an abnormal metabolic pathway that drives cancer-cell growth in a particular subtype of glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer. The finding...
Testing method promising for spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis
A medical test previously developed to measure a toxin found in tobacco smokers has been adapted to measure the same toxin in people suffering from spinal cord injuries and multiple...
High prevalence of NSAID prescription in those at risk of heart attack/death in primary care
A new study demonstrates a high prevalence of NSAID prescriptions in patients at risk of ischaemic heart disease.
Blame men for menopause, McMaster University study suggests
Researchers at McMaster University believe that over tens of thousands of years, a lack of reproduction among older women has given rise to menopause as an unintended result of evolutionary...
AstraZeneca Buys Pearl Therapeutics
Pharma: Acquisition adds lung drug candidate to AstraZeneca’s pipelinerebuilding campaign
Well: Life, Interrupted: The Cost of Cancer
When I blow out my birthday candles next month, I’ll celebrate being alive. But my 25th birthday will also mark a countdown to the date when I will no longer...
The New Old Age: Price Reductions for Diabetes Care Supplies
Medicare is reducing fees for diabetes care supplies, and beneficiaries are likely to be charged less, too.
Well: Breast Milk Is Good for the Brain, Scans Show
Using M.R.I. scans, researchers have added to the evidence that breast-feeding leads to increased rates of brain development in infants.
One Death, Scores Of Injuries Caused By Explosion At Ethylene Plant
Plant Safety: Louisiana chemical facility was undergoing an expansion
Doctors Should Dress Sharp in the Name of Hygiene, Doc Says
Casual dress among doctors suggests a decline in personal hygiene, one doctor argues.
Unmasking 'Invisible' Drug Trials
In a not-so-veiled threat, researchers warn companies to publish their drug data
Lilly stops mid-stage Alzheimer's drug study
NEW YORK (AP) -- Eli Lilly and Co. said Thursday that it stopped a mid-stage clinical trial of an experimental Alzheimer's disease drug because of potential...
Universal paid sick leave reduces spread of flu
Allowing all employees access to paid sick days would reduce influenza infections in the workplace by nearly 6 percent, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis. The researchers simulated an influenza epidemic...
Major hurdle cleared to diabetes transplants
Researchers have identified a way to trigger reproduction in the laboratory of clusters of human cells that make insulin, potentially removing a significant obstacle to transplanting the cells as a...
Deep brain stimulation trial in treatment-resistant obesity links weight loss trend to metabolism increase programmed in metabolic chamber
A deep brain stimulation trial in treatment-resistant obesity linked a weight loss trend to a metabolism increase programmed in a metabolic chamber, according to a pilot study.
Baldness Drug Curbs Men's Interest in Alcohol, Study Suggests
Almost two-thirds of the men in the study said they were drinking less after taking Propecia.
Cutting post-surgical infection rate
Medical researchers are recommending clinical guidelines that will cut the post-surgical infection rate for staph bacteria (including MRSA) by 71 percent and 59 percent for a broader class of infectious...
Podcast: The Cheetah's Secrets, Monks and Volcanoes, and Why Some People Turn to Science When They Confront Death
An audio roundup of some of our favorite stories of the week
Dangerous E. coli Strains May Linger Longer in Water
E. coli that produce a toxin dangerous to humans may survive longer in water than benign counterparts, a new study finds.The findings have implications for water quality testing, suggesting that...
NSU Center Designated as WHO Collaborating Center in Consumer Health Informatics
Nova Southeastern University's Center for Consumer Health Informatics Research (CCHIR) has been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a WHO Collaborating Center in Consumer Health Informatics.